Louise (Nyberg) Burr

Lifelong organist and loving mother of 5 
 
SOUTHBURY – Louise Nyberg Burr, 90, formerly of Oxford, CT, daughter of the late Richard & Alice Eames Nyberg of Oxford, CT, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at Waterbury Hospital.  

She was dedicated to her family, her music, and her animals. She grew up in Oxford, attended the last one room schoolhouse in town, and then went to Naugatuck HS in order to participate in their music program.  At the age of 13, she was asked by the St Peter’s Episcopal Church music director if she would be their organist, with the church paying for her organ studies.  After High School she was accepted at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. She then returned to CT and lived in Bethlehem, CT for 19 years, and was organist for Christ Episcopal Church in Bethlehem,  organist for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Woodbury, organist for the Congregational Church in Bethlehem, and then  moved back to Oxford in 1971, where she was organist for the Congregational Church in Oxford for 48 years. In addition, she played the piano for the Connecticut Choral Society, and performed at Carnegie Hall, concerts in London, UK and at numerous other venues here in New England. 

In addition, to music, Louise loved animals, especially her guinea pigs, sheep and donkeys. She showed her guinea pigs at fairs around the Northeast, including Eastern States Exposition, winning hundreds of ribbons and trophies.   

She was also a lifelong gardener, planting hundreds of flowers, shrubs and trees at her house, around town, and at other people’s homes.  Despite the potential damage to her gardens, she allowed foxes, skunks, raccoons, opossums and other animals to eat, live, and raise young ones under her sheds, barns, and around the gardens. 

During her entire lifetime she was a volunteer for many civic organizations, and helped start volunteer groups in the Oxford area, most notably the Oxford Historical Society, which she was President of for 12 years. While she was soft spoken, people from all walks of life loved her, and she kept in touch with many, many people who moved out of CT and loved to hear from her. 
She is survived by her sister Eleanor Sturges of Sandy Hook, CT, her sister Jessie and husband David King, of San Jose, CA,  son Thaddeus  and wife Mary-Ann Burr,  son Elisha and his wife Maggan Burr-Nyberg,  daughter Theodosia Zeleznik, and  son Jeremiah  and wife Laura Burr. Her daughter Cassandra, married to Wayne Bartter,  predeceased her. 
She loved her family, including her 5 children, 15 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren. She traveled to many places around the world to see family members stationed abroad, taking hundreds of priceless photos of people and places she encountered, keeping extensive diaries of each trip, and bringing back unique gifts for family members here in the USA. She truly led an amazing life, and she was playing cribbage and other board games up to the last 2 days of her life. 

There will be a Celebration of Life at 11am on September 25, 2021 at St. Peter’s Church in Oxford, CT. All are welcome.  Donations can be made to the Oxford Historical Society, P.O. Box 582, Oxford, CT  06478. To leave an online condolence please visit www.munsonloveterefuneralhome.com.
 

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